Animal licence types

Licence name
Animal licences
Summary

Animal licence, for boarding animals, breeding dogs, hiring out horses, selling animals as pets or using or training performing animals.

We maintain a list of all the animal licence holders in the borough.

Do I need a licence?

You'll need an animal licence if you're:

  • Boarding animals - if you provide boarding in kennels for dogs, home boarding for dogs, day care for dogs or any type of cat boarding.
  • Breeding dogs - if you breed 3 or more litters of puppies a year, unless you can prove you haven't sold the puppies or if you run a breeding business. You may be classed as a business even if you're an individual. Find out what is classed as a business
  • Hiring out horses - if you have a business that keeps horses to hire out, including for any of the following activities: riding lessons, horse rides and trekking, loan horses, hunting, polo instruction, pony and donkey rides.
  • Selling animals as pets - if you import, distribute, advertise an animal for sale or sell animals as pets as part of a business. You may be classed as a business even if you're an individual. Find out what is classed as a business
  • Using or training performing animals - if you exhibit, use or train animals for business, education or entertainment purposes. This includes animals performing to a live audience or taking pictures or videos of the animals.
What you will need to apply

You can apply for an animal licence if you're at least 18 years old and live in Rochdale borough.

You're not eligible to apply if at the time of your application you:

  • Are disqualified under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 from owning, keeping, being involved in the keeping or being entitled to control or influence the keeping of animals, dealing in animals or transporting or being involved in the transportation of animals, or:
  • Meet the criteria in Regulation 11 and Schedule 8 of the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 as being disqualified or had a licence revoked.
How to apply

To apply for an animal licence:

  1. Email animal.licensing@rochdale.gov.uk to request an application form.
  2. We'll aim to send you an application form within 5 working days.
  3. Return your completed form and supporting documents to us.

After you apply

Once we receive your application:

  1. We’ll call you to take the application fee payment by credit or debit card.
  2. We’ll schedule an inspection of your premises by an animal licensing officer. You may need to pay for any veterinary fees if a vet is required.
  3. We’ll review the information collected to decide if your business meets the licence conditions.
  4. We’ll contact you with our decision. If approved, you’ll need to pay the grant fee.
  5. Once the grant fee is paid, we’ll issue the licence certificate.

 

How much it will cost

Dog breeding

Dog breeding licence Current fee
Licence application £323
1 year grant: fewer than 5 dogs £164
1 year grant: 5–10 dogs £169
1 year grant: 10–15 dogs £174
1 year grant: more than 15 dogs £181
2 year grant: fewer than 5 dogs £285
2 year grant: 5–10 dogs £291
2 year grant: 10–15 dogs £296
2 year grant: more than 15 dogs £301
3 year grant: fewer than 5 dogs £406
3 year grant: 5–10 dogs £412
3 year grant: 10–15 dogs £418
3 year grant: more than 15 dogs £424

 

Boarding of cats and/or dogs

Includes home boarding and doggy day care.

Boarding of cats and/or dogs licence Current fee
Licence application £321
1 year grant £159
2 year grant £279
3 year grant £353

Selling animals as pets

Includes pet shops and online sales.

Selling animals as pets licence Current fee
Licence application £321
1 year grant £159
2 year grant £279
3 year grant £401

Hiring out horses

Hiring out horses licence Current fee
Licence application £437
1 year grant: fewer than 10 horses £164
1 year grant: 10–19 horses £169
1 year grant: 20–29 horses £174
1 year grant: more than 30 horses £181
2 year grant: fewer than 10 horses £354
2 year grant: 10–19 horses £359
2 year grant: 20–29 horses £365
2 year grant: more than 30 horses £373
3 year grant: fewer than 10 horses £546
3 year grant: 10–19 horses £552
3 year grant: 20–29 horses £558
3 year grant: more than 30 horses £564

Keeping of animals for exhibition

3 year licence only.

Keeping of animals for exhibition licence Current fee
Licence application £321
3 year grant £353

All licences

Item Current fee
Variation of licence £53
Certified copy of licence £22
Inspection of additional premises £56 per hour
Conditions to meet

To receive an animal licence, an animal welfare officer will visit your premises to check if you meet all of the licence conditions.

Once you've received a licence, you'll also have to follow the conditions of the licence.

All these conditions are listed within the application form.

Does tacit consent apply?

No. We must process your application before it can be granted as tacit consent doesn't apply.

Validity and renewals

Your animal licence will last for 1, 2 or 3 years. We'll decide the length of your licence based on the outcome of your inspection and the type of activity you're undertaking.

You must apply to renew your licence if you want to continue your animal activities. We'll send you the renewal documents to your licensed premises 3 months before your licence is due to expire.

You'll have to complete and return the renewal documents at least 10 weeks before your licence expires. If you don't renew in time, you'll need to apply for a licence again. This may affect the length of your licence and you may have to pay additional costs.

Appeals, complaints and redress

You can get in touch with us if you want to know more about why we suspended, changed or revoked your licence or why we refused your application and what actions you can take before re-applying.

If you disagree with our decision, you can appeal to HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

Fines and penalties

You can face an unlimited fine or up to 51 weeks in prison, or both, if you:

  • Run an animal boarding establishment without a licence
  • Breed dogs without a licence
  • Exhibit, use or train animals without a licence
  • Hire out horses without a licence
  • Run a pet shop without a licence
  • Don't follow the conditions of your licence
  • Obstruct or delay an inspection by the licensing officer
Contact us

Contact the team